ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 12, 1996 TAG: 9601120046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S. D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
A Salem man convicted in July of sexually molesting his stepdaughter was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday in Salem Circuit Court.
The man, 27, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded guilty to statutory rape, taking indecent liberties with a child and sodomy.
Judge G.O. Clemens sentenced him to 15 years in prison for all three charges, suspended after serving five years. He also will be on probation for 10 years after he's released from prison.
Because he was arrested before parole was abolished in January 1995, he will be eligible for parole, said Salem Commonwealth's Attorney Fred King.
The man met the victim when she was three and he was 14. He lived next to the girl and her mother, who was divorced.
He began baby-sitting the child and eventually became sexually involved with her mother. At the same time, according to the victim, he began molesting her.
The man moved in with the girl and her mother when he was 16. Two years later, he married the girl's mother and adopted the girl.
Last April, the girl, now 16, told police that she had been molested for more than 10 years.
She told police that the abuse began with "touching." Over time, she said, the fondling became more frequent and more involved.
She said that in the summer of 1994, her stepfather attempted to have intercourse with her.
Shortly after going to police, she recanted her charge. But after a phone call from a social worker who said the charges may have been valid, the case was reopened.
Although the defendant pleaded guilty to statutory rape, his attorney, John Gregory, Jr., said that he confessed only to having oral sex with the victim, which statutory rape includes.
"We're not dealing with a situation that happened over one weekend," King said. "We're talking about a course of conduct that had been going on for the better part of this child's life."
The girl has been staying at the Baptist Children's Home in Salem.
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